Category: Plate & Escape

Oh, sweet summertime, how we've been longing for you! With your bright shining sun, long days and - most importantly - your seasonal produce! Is it just me, or does your diet automatically become healthier come warmer months? I'm just constantly surrounded by fresh ripe berries, bright leafy greens, colorful summer squash, and more. The raw deliciousness is a no-brainer. So while perusing the market this week, I was inspired by an abundance of colorful produce: tuscan kale, speckled zucchini, plump blueberries and peaches. What could I make that was satisfying and delicious, while still preserving the raw, ripe flavors? Enter: the Summer Farmers Market Smoothie Bowl. After stumbling across a bag of crispy, golden local granola, I knew this was the answer. I scooped up one giant zucchini ($1.50), a quart of peaches ($3), one bunch of tender kale ($3), one container of blueberries ($4.50) and a small bag of granola ($6) and off to the blender I went! Now, I know leafy greens in your smoothie are a tale as old as time these days. They create a superhero-esque green hue and pack a punch with protein and vitamins. But you may be wondering: what the heck are you doing with a zucchini? Let me tell you. An absolute perfect way to bulk up your smoothies without adding the extra sugar and fat of additional fruits like banana or avocado: steamed zucchini! When you get it home from the market, wash it and chop it (into coins or spears, whatever you prefer) and cook in a steamer basket for 5-10 minutes over a pot of boiling water. Then let the zucchini cool and pop it in the freezer in an even layer. Once it's frozen, throw it in an airtight container or bag. Then next time you're looking...

Oh, sweet summertime, how we’ve been longing for you! With your bright shining sun, long days and – most importantly – your seasonal produce! Is it just me, or does your diet automatically become healthier come warmer months? I’m just constantly surrounded by fresh ripe berries, bright leafy greens, colorful summer squash, and more. The raw deliciousness is a no-brainer. So while perusing the market this week, I was inspired by an abundance of colorful…

Happy New Year, EscapeMakers! We're excited to kick off the year with a whole new calendar of wintry and delicious Plate & Escape recipes and adventures. This week, in honor of our upcoming Local Food & Craft Beverage Tasting Showcase (scroll down for details), we did our shopping at Seaport District jewel Fulton Stall Market (FSM). FSM is a marketplace for local foods, connecting farmers and producers with the growing Lower Manhattan community, and a place we hold near and dear to our hearts here at EMHQ, as it is also the location of our "Agritourism Center." So we did some serious shopping for a New Year feast! The recently relocated market is filled with local goods from farm fresh produce, to canned jams and sauces, to hard cider and mead, to meats and poultry of all sorts. The first item that caught my eye was a package of fresh whole wheat pasta from Knoll Crest Farm, which produces eggs, pasta, soups, and baked goods in the Hudson Valley. With pasta on the mind, the obvious next selection was cheese! After sampling a variety of cheeses with the fabulous and food-centric FSM staff, we landed on a semi-hard cheese from Central New York's Harpersfield Cheese. Nutty, creamy and perfect for grating into our pasta! With an oil-based, cheesy sauce in the works, I was drawn to the abundant freezer filled with farm-fresh meats and poultry of every variety. I picked out a small piece of pork belly, aka "Catskill Bacon," from Catskill Food Co. in Delaware County: the perfect fatty, salty bite in our creamy pasta. One final ingredient caught my eye as we were nearing check out: a gorgeous and wild looking package of mushrooms, referred to as the "chef's mix" from Primordia Farms in Lambertsville, PA. Oyster mushrooms, cremini mushrooms...

Happy New Year, EscapeMakers! We’re excited to kick off the year with a whole new calendar of wintry and delicious Plate & Escape recipes and adventures. This week, in honor of our upcoming Local Food & Craft Beverage Tasting Showcase (scroll down for details), we did our shopping at Seaport District jewel Fulton Stall Market (FSM). FSM is a marketplace for local foods, connecting farmers and producers with the growing Lower Manhattan community, and a place…

This time of year, I run into two cooking woes. 1) What to make when I'm too tired and lazy to chop and prep and use every one of my pots and pants, and 2) what's a quick and easy bite to make/bring to one of the many holiday parties popping up on my calendar? This quick, easy, farm-fresh dish is the perfect solution to both! It takes 10 minutes, makes very little mess, and is an absolute crowd pleaser! Enter: The Pawlet & Honey Crostini. During my Saturday shopping excursion at McCarren Park in Brooklyn for my Honey Roasted Carrots, I picked up a few additional items for my crostini. From Vermont's Consider Bardwell Farm, I perused a variety of delicious cow and goat cheeses. I was specifically searching for something that was soft and easy to melt, so I was directed to the "Meltlet" cheese, which is a version of their Pawlet. It was nutty and mild and perfect for a sweet and savory recipe. I bought 1/4lb ($5). I picked up a fresh baguette ($3) from New Jersey's Baker's Bounty. The outside felt nice and crusty, but the inside was soft and pillowy. The perfect type of bread for a crostini! The honey, which I picked up for my Honey Roasted Carrots last week, came from Nature's Way ($6.25/honeybear). There's something about fresh cheese that brings on an unstoppable craving for wine, am I right? Luckily, Borghese Vineyard was set up just across from the cheese stand, so I made my way over to pick my poison :). They had so many delicious bottles straight from their Long Island vineyard, but I settled on an easy drinking red wine, the Petit Chateu ($17). Time to head home and assemble my delicious and festive treats!...

This time of year, I run into two cooking woes. 1) What to make when I’m too tired and lazy to chop and prep and use every one of my pots and pants, and 2) what’s a quick and easy bite to make/bring to one of the many holiday parties popping up on my calendar? This quick, easy, farm-fresh dish is the perfect solution to both! It takes 10 minutes, makes very little mess, and…

It always feels like there is a very short period after that Thanksgiving feast where you can rest and fill up on detoxifying veggies and wholesome foods in preparation for the the onslaught of holiday cookies, cocktail hours, treats and sweets that descends upon you each December. I try to take advantage of the wintry assortment of vegetables the NYC Greenmarkets have to offer this time of year. My go-to dish is roasted root vegetables. Warm, toasty, juicy and satisfying, you can mix and match any root veg with an array of spices and flavorings to trick you into thinking you're eating something rich and sinful. I took a walk through Brooklyn's McCarren Park Greenmarket on Saturday and was immediately drawn to the vibrant orange carrots from Garden of Eve Farm. Parked right next door was Nature's Way Farm with all of its delicious local honeys and honey products. The perfect (and absolute simplest) recipe came to mind: Honey Roasted Carrots. I grabbed a bunch of carrots ($4) and a honey bear jar of honey ($6.25) and I had everything I needed! You won't believe how easy this recipe is... INGREDIENTS: 1 bunch whole carrots, peeled salt & pepper to taste approx. 2 tbsp honey (you may use more or less for desired sweetness) 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat oven to 350F. Place washed and peeled whole carrots onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper. Toss to coat carrots evenly and spread them out into a single layer. Drizzle the surface of the carrots with honey. Bake until desired tenderness, 40 - 50 minutes. Cooking up these honey roasted carrots will surely inspire you to get out there and support these amazing farmers who bring you fresh flavorful carrots, sweet sticky...

It always feels like there is a very short period after that Thanksgiving feast where you can rest and fill up on detoxifying veggies and wholesome foods in preparation for the the onslaught of holiday cookies, cocktail hours, treats and sweets that descends upon you each December. I try to take advantage of the wintry assortment of vegetables the NYC Greenmarkets have to offer this time of year. My go-to dish is roasted root vegetables….

I don't know about you, but with the holidays creeping closer and closer, I've got dessert on the brain! After my plentiful and autumnal shopping trip to the Union Square Greenmarket last week (check out the Overnight Oats post for all the details), my pantry and fridge were still spilling over with Breezy Hill Orchard apples and cranberries and Greenmarket Grains Project rolled oats. So I created a "part 2 recipe" from those leftover ingredients. A good tip to remember when shopping fresh and local at your neighborhood markets: one of the easiest ways to save money and reduce waste is to come up with multiple recipes from the same ingredients! This time I was totally inspired to make one of my all-time favorite treats: Cranberry Apple Crisp. It's gooey and delicious on the inside, crisp and buttery on the top, and those sweet apples and tart cranberries make the most perfect fall dessert...or breakfast, :). It's quick and easy to make and if you're somewhat baking-adverse (like myself), this takes way less precision than other technical baking. It's a great place to start, especially to gear up for all the baked goods, sweets and treats that are so fun to make (and eat) this time of year! Here's how I made it: INGREDIENTS: 1/2 C rolled oats 1/2 C + 3 tbsp all purpose flour, divided 1/2 C brown sugar (light or dark) 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp kosher salt 1/4 tsp ground ginger 1 stick butter, chilled and diced into small cubes 1/4 C granulated sugar Zest and juice of 1 lemon 4 apples, cored and sliced thin (I used a combo of Jonah Gold and Mutsu) 1 C fresh cranberries (or frozen, thawed) INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat over to 375F. In a mixing bowl, combine sliced apples,...

I don’t know about you, but with the holidays creeping closer and closer, I’ve got dessert on the brain! After my plentiful and autumnal shopping trip to the Union Square Greenmarket last week (check out the Overnight Oats post for all the details), my pantry and fridge were still spilling over with Breezy Hill Orchard apples and cranberries and Greenmarket Grains Project rolled oats. So I created a “part 2 recipe” from those leftover ingredients. A…

Welcome back to the second edition of Plate & Escape! The autumn markets are absolutely bustling right now, so I was in my ultimate happy place spending a morning at the Wednesday Union Square Greenmarket to indulge in the seasonal beauty and pick up a few things for this week's recipe, which celebrates the connection between you and your food. If you guys are anything like us, your fall has been utterly bursting with apples. From our annual Apple Palooza event, to our Dutchess Farm Fresh apple-picking tours the past two months, to our days sitting in the Greenmarkets, our crispers are BRIMMING with New York apples. But, alas, I just can't help myself: I was like a moth to a flame, drawn yet again to the gorgeous array of apples at Dutchess County's Breezy Hill Orchard. The Hudson Valley Orchard offers endless apple goodies. Honey Crisp, Gala, Jonah Gold, Mutsu...the apple varieties were just beautiful. They also have apple cider donuts, apple cider, baked goods, pears, and many more autumnal goodies. I picked up 5 medium sized apples (a mix of Jonah Gold and Mutsu). And that's when I saw a giant, vibrant bucket filled with fresh cranberries. It felt particularly timely since I was shopping on November 1st, with Thanksgiving on the mind, that I add some cranberries to my culinary adventure. So I grabbed about 2 scoops of the little rubies (I spent $5 total for the apples & cranberries) and continued on. These fall fruits really had me thinking about warm spices and sweet treats, so it was at that moment that I decided on a two part edition for these ingredients. First, Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats. Second? You'll have to tune in next week to find out. I wandered over to the Greenmarket Regional Grains Project and...

Welcome back to the second edition of Plate & Escape! The autumn markets are absolutely bustling right now, so I was in my ultimate happy place spending a morning at the Wednesday Union Square Greenmarket to indulge in the seasonal beauty and pick up a few things for this week’s recipe, which celebrates the connection between you and your food. If you guys are anything like us, your fall has been utterly bursting with apples….

Hey there, EscapeMakers! Welcome to the very first edition of Plate & Escape! We are thrilled to share this new digital cooking series with you, which will aim to connect the dots between shopping locally, cooking seasonally, forming relationships with your local farmers, and ultimately taking a trip to see for yourself where your food comes from. Follow along as we shop for fresh ingredients from NYC Greenmarkets, cook and share simple and delicious recipes, and provide information on when / where/how to go visit these hard-working farmers and gorgeous farms in action! We visited the Union Square (Friday) Greenmarket for the first Plate & Escape shopping excursion. October in the market is absolutely abundant! The produce is plentiful, juicy apples are everywhere you look, giant squash and pumpkins dot nearly every table, full bundles of greens are stacked high, the scent of warm apple cider fills the air...there's just nothing like it! It's impossible not to circle the market five times in order to decide just what to buy. After a long walk through the market, I was completely inspired by the amazing ingredients at Migliorelli Farm and Lucky Dog Organic. From Migliorelli, I selected one giant fennel bulb ($2), a voluptuous bunch of dark green Lacinato kale ($2), and a fluffy bunch of fragrant dill ($2). From Lucky Dog, I scooped up about 2.5 lbs of an assortment of small rainbow colored potatoes: purple Magic Mollys, German Butterballs and Red Potatoes (all $2.50/lb). I spent less than $12 on the entirety of my shopping trip -- an absolutely great deal for local, farm fresh, gorgeous produce! Once I got home, it was time to cook! A very important step in cooking with farm fresh produce is a very thorough wash. Although farmers normally wash their own bounty before...

Hey there, EscapeMakers! Welcome to the very first edition of Plate & Escape! We are thrilled to share this new digital cooking series with you, which will aim to connect the dots between shopping locally, cooking seasonally, forming relationships with your local farmers, and ultimately taking a trip to see for yourself where your food comes from. Follow along as we shop for fresh ingredients from NYC Greenmarkets, cook and share simple and delicious recipes,…